This invention relates generally to caskets, and more particularly to that type of casket known as a cremation container.
Caskets have traditionally been employed for burial of the dead, both for in-ground burial and above-ground interment. Caskets are normally fabricated from fine furniture-grade wood or from highly polished/finished sheet metal for aesthetic reasons. Cremation containers, or so-called xe2x80x9calternative containersxe2x80x9d as they are termed in the death care industry, are on the other hand fabricated of cardboard, hardboard or plywood, and as such are usually much less ornate and hence much less expensive than wood or metal caskets. These containers are generally employed as containers for the dead for which the family has chosen cremation as the means of ultimate disposition of the body. Both caskets and cremation containers traditionally include a lower shell or body containing portion and an upper cap or lid portion closeable on the lower portion. Due to their size and shape neither caskets nor cremation containers are cost-effectively shipped.
Efforts at increasing the cost-effectiveness of shipping caskets and cremation containers have been directed toward the design and development of so-called xe2x80x9cknock-downxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cready-to-assemblexe2x80x9d caskets, that is to say, caskets which are shipped in a non-erected, compact package which are then erected at the shipping destination. A major goal of designers of such knock-down caskets has been to produce designs which are relatively quickly and simply erected with few or no tools being required. Success in this area has been more readily achieved in the case of cremation containers rather than in caskets, as cremation containers are by their very nature much less expensive than caskets and as such the fabrication techniques employed in knock-down designs detract from their appearance to a much lesser degree than do they from caskets.
One example of a knock-down or ready-to-assemble casket or cremation container is disclosed in the assignee""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,016, hereby incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth in its entirety. Other examples of knock-down or ready-to-assemble caskets or cremation containers are disclosed in the assignee""s aforementioned U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 60/125,273 and 09/312,301, incorporated by reference hereabove.
It is desirable to improve upon the design of the caskets and cremation containers in the assignee""s ""016 patent and ""273 and ""301 patent applications, as particularly relates to cremation containers.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a cremation container is provided which is foldable into a compact configuration for shipping. The cremation container comprises a bottom, a pair of side walls pivoted relative to the bottom, a pair of end walls pivoted relative to the bottom, an angle interconnecting adjacent end edges of adjacent ones of the side and end walls, and a cover removably positionable atop the pair of side walls and end walls.
One pair of the pair of side walls and pair of end walls is foldable onto the bottom, and the other pair of the pair of side walls and pair of end walls is foldable onto the one pair to compactly configure the container for shipping. Preferably, the pair of side walls are foldable onto the bottom and the pair of end walls are foldable onto the pair of side walls for shipping.
The cremation container further preferably comprises a pair of side base mold frame members and a pair of end base mold frame members. The bottom preferably comprises a panel with peripheral side and end edges which are retained in grooves in the pair of side base mold frame members and in the pair of end base mold frame members, respectively.
Each of the pair of end walls preferably comprises an upper and a lower panel hingedly connected together. An end top mold frame member is preferably secured to an upper edge of the upper panel, and the lower panel is preferably secured to the end base mold frame member.
The upper and lower end wall panels are preferably hingedly connected together via a cardboard living hinge.
Each of the pair of side walls likewise preferably comprises an upper and a lower panel hingedly connected together. A side top mold frame member is preferably secured to an upper edge of the upper panel, and the lower panel is preferably secured to the side base mold frame member.
As with the end wall panels, the upper and lower side wall panels are preferably hingedly connected together via a cardboard living hinge.
Each angle preferably abuts adjacent ones of the side and end base mold frame members and adjacent ones of the side and end top mold frame members.
The upper panels of the side and end walls are preferably secured to the angles with screws during erection of the container in the field. Preferably, the upper panels of the side and end walls are also secured to the side and end base mold frame members in the field, also preferably with screws. Preferably, one need secure each end of each upper side wall panel to one leg of a respective angle with only three screws, and each end of each upper end wall to the other leg of the respective angle with three screws. Finally, one need secure each upper side wall panel to a respective side base mold frame member with only three screws and each upper end wall to a respective end base mold frame member with only two screws. Thus, the cremation container of the present invention can be completely erected in the field by installing only thirty four screws.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein, in which: